Ozone and Hydroxyl Injection Systems

ABSTRACT

An ozone and/or hydroxyl laundry system that injects ozone and/or hydroxyls into the chemical injection system in order to allow the system to inject ozone and/or hydroxyls as other cleaning chemicals are injected into the washer. This allows ozone and/or hydroxyls to be injected through the wash cycle rather than just during the initial fill phase and additional avoids the expense and maintenance of adding ozone and/or hydroxyls recirculation plumping to an ozone and/or hydroxyls laundry system. Accordingly, ozone and/or hydroxyl levels may be maintained at superior levels throughout the wash cycle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/149,444, filed May 9, 2016, now allowed, which is hereby incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The present invention is directed to ozone and/or hydroxyl radicalinjection systems for laundry machines.

BACKGROUND

Ozone laundry machines are an alternative to regular washing machinesthat inject dissolved ozone gas (O₃) in the washing liquid of a washingmachine. The dissolved ozone oxidizes the dirt and other soils on thelaundry and cleans them quite effectively. Ozone laundry systemsgenerally require the water to be at a much lower temperature thanconventional washing machines and thus require far greater electricity.Accordingly, ozone laundry machines have become popular recently as anenergy efficient alternative to washing machines.

SUMMARY

Recently, the inventors have discovered that in addition to injectingozone gas into the feed lines, a true hydroxyl radical generator (e.g.that generates ozone gas at 900 ppm) may be utilized to inject hydroxylradicals infused gas into the feed lines. Hydroxyl radicals areparticularly advantageous because they do not produce potentiallyharmful byproducts that ozone generators do. Accordingly, implementing alaundry system with hydroxyl radicals will allow the laundry system toclean without testing the environment for ozone buildup.

Hydroxyl Radicals

The hydroxyl radical, .OH, is the neutral form of the hydroxide ion(OH—). Hydroxyl radicals are diatomic molecules that are highly reactiveand short-lived with an average half-life of seconds. The hydroxylradical which was first discovered by scientists in 1963 is oftenreferred to as the “detergent” of the troposphere, or the lowest part ofthe atmosphere, because it reacts with many pollutants and helps destroythem. It also has an important role in eliminating some greenhouse gaseslike methane and ozone.

Atmospheric hydroxyl radicals should not be confused with free radicalsthat are produced inside living organisms. Atmospheric hydroxyl radicalsare so reactive that they are instantly neutralized when they makecontact with any substance and would be impossible to ingest as acomplete ion. This is the fact that makes hydroxyl radicals, which arein the outside air at all times during the day, one of the safestprocesses for deodorizing in an occupied area.

Hydroxyls are formed in nature by the reaction of UV light from the sundisassembling water vapor (H₂0) to get a hydrogen atom and oxygen (O₂)which are combined together to form the hydroxyl radical (*OH).

Hydroxyl Radical Technology

Hydroxyl generators currently used, are utilized in the restorationindustry for cleaning air that may have been polluted or contained.Hydroxyl generators currently utilized in the restoration industryincorporate UV light in the generation process. UV light has three majorspectrums: A, B and C. UVA is in the 315 nm to 400 nm wavelength and iswhat is commonly referred to as a “black light,” which makes whitethings glow and is considered safe for vision and skin contact. UVAlamps do not produce ozone. UVB is in the 280 nm to 315 nm wavelength.These are the lights in tanning salons. UVC is the 100 nm to 280 nmwavelength. These lamps are “germicidal” and can damage your eyes andskin. UVC lamps in the 185 nm spectrum produce large amounts of ozone.

Some manufacturers that claim to sell a hydroxyl generator use UVC lampsin the 185 nm to 254 nm wavelength without a catalyst and claim to makehydroxyls. However, these units primarily generate ozone, and fewhydroxyls and are not true hydroxyl generators. Other manufacturers usethe same spectrum range of UVC (185 nm to 254 nm) and but alsoincorporate reactive metals like titanium as a catalyst to createhydroxyls. These machines would probably make more hydroxyls then thenthe UVC system without a catalyst, but it still produces significantamounts of ozone.

Another hydroxyl generation technology developed by the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) utilizes UVC light in the254 nm wavelength to excite nano-sized particles of Titanium Dioxide togenerate hydroxyl radicals. This process has been deemed safe by NASA(it has been used in the space station) and also certified by theFederal Drug Administration (FDA) as a Type 2 Medical Device that isapproved for use in hospitals, including neonatal and baby wards.

The safest and most preferred technology to produce hydroxyl radicals isa version of the NASA developed process that utilizes UVA (black light)in the 365 nm to 385 nm wavelength to excite (irradiate) nano sizedTitanium Dioxide sol gel particles. Many scientists believe that UVAlight is the best spectrum to produce the largest amount of hydroxylspossible with super reactive TiO₂. TiO₂ is the white powder on powdereddonuts or the white in your tooth paste. Both the black light and theTiO₂ utilized in this technology are safe and benign. Hydroxyl radicalgeneration systems that output hydroxyl radical charged gas arecommercially available from suppliers such as Viqua.

Hydroxyl radical generation systems are typically used in therestoration industry to treat the air for mold, etc. However, it isknown that generally it takes longer for a true hydroxyl radicalgenerator system than an ozone system to clean a room. See for example,http://www.wondermakers.com/Portals/0/docs/Hydroxyl%20Radicals%20Hype%20or%20Reality.pdf.Accordingly, while safer, hydroxyl radicals generally are thought of asbeing less effective cleaners than ozone generation systems.

Hydroxyl Radical Systems for Laundry

However, the inventor(s) have discovered that a laundry system utilizinghydroxyl radicals is in fact faster acting and more effective atcleaning after quantitative testing of the laundry. This was quitesurprising, as in restoration systems where hydroxyl radical infused gasis introduced to the room, it takes longer. Accordingly, afterexperimentation, the inventor(s) have learned that hydroxyl radical gasthat a system introduces into the feed lines is safe and more effectivethan ozone generation systems at cleaning laundry. Indeed, the hydroxylradical systems are even faster acting.

Injection System Types for Ozone and/or Hydroxyl Laundry

Ozone and/or hydroxyls laundry machines utilize several differentmethods for introducing ozone and/or hydroxyls into the washing liquidduring the wash cycle. Most ozone and/or hydroxyls laundry machinesinject ozone and/or hydroxyls into the washing drum through the waterfill lines. The water fill lines only fill up the washing drum duringthe initiation of the cycle, when the water is first released into thedrum. Accordingly, the fill lines do not dispense water for the rest ofthe cycle. Accordingly, ozone and/or hydroxyls laundry machines thatintroduce ozone and/or hydroxyls through the fill lines are limited to asingle injection period, during the fill cycle. Other ozone and/orhydroxyls washing machines either recirculate wash water and continuallyadd ozone and/or hydroxyls to the wash water, or directly inject gasinto the washer drum. However, each of these methods has severaldisadvantages that are explained below.

Indirect Injection

Systems that inject ozone and/or hydroxyls through the water fill lines,by for example, connecting a manifold to the water fill lines are calledindirect or passive injection systems. Ozone and/or hydroxyls systemthat inject ozone and/or hydroxyls through these fill lines pose severalproblems. Particularly, ozone and/or hydroxyls systems with oxygenconcentrators have a ramp up period, typically 20-60 seconds, to beginoperating at an effective capacity. Additionally, washer fill times arefrom 1-5 minutes, which is a minimal amount of time to inject enoughozone and/or hydroxyls to effectively oxidize soils, bacteria, andviruses. According to the International Ozone and/or hydroxylsAssociation (IOA), a starting (without replenishing continuously)dissolved zone level 1 ppm of ozone in 15 gallons of water at 75 degreesthat is vigorously agitated will revert back to oxygen within 2-4minutes.

Therefore, there are many disadvantages of indirection ozone and/orhydroxyls injection systems that inject ozone and/or hydroxyls throughthe water fill lines. These include: (1) low dissolved ozone and/orhydroxyls levels for the majority of the wash cycle following a shorttime after filling, (2) low gas phase ozone and/or hydroxyls levels, (3)fast degeneration of ozone and/or hydroxyls due to high pH, (4), high inmaintenance, and (5) adding the same amount of ozone and/or hydroxylsfor each wash cycle, and lack of ability to customize ozone and/orhydroxyls levels for particular wash loads.

Charged Ozone and/or Hydroxyls

Charged ozone and/or hydroxyl systems are commonly used for drinkingwater applications and have recently been adapted for laundry. Forexample, charged ozone systems have a tank or reservoir that keepsdissolved ozone (O₃) levels around 2 ppm. To do this properly, a DO₃controller is required. As indirect injection systems, charged systemsinject during fill only, but achieve a higher ppm of DO₃ than indirectinjection systems.

For both indirect and charged ozone and/or hydroxyl systems, theintroduction of alkali detergents will cause the ozone and/or hydroxylsto off gas immediately. Ozone and/or hydroxyls do not dissolve or staydissolved in water during the process in which pH is increased intraditional washing cycles. Alkali detergents used in laundry machinesincrease the pH level of the wash water to approximately 10 pH.

In an example wash cycle, the beginning pH is 7, alkali is added andincreases the pH to 10 or more. While the pH is being increased by thealkali, the ozone is oxidizing, off gassing and reverting pass to O₂.Once the higher pH is achieved, it stabilizes the ozone in solution.Therefore, although the initial ppm of ozone and/or hydroxyls levelsinjected into the wash drum may be sufficiently high, once alkalidetergents are added the ozone and/or hydroxyls levels will falldramatically. Therefore, these methods that only introduce ozone and/orhydroxyls during the fill cycle have low ozone and/or hydroxyls levelsfor the majority of the ozone and/or hydroxyls cycle, especially oncealkali detergent is added.

There are other disadvantages of charged ozone and/or hydroxyls systemsthat include: (1) large footprint, (2) they can damage the washer, (3)they are high in maintenance, and (4) they add the same amount of ozoneand/or hydroxyls for each wash cycle, and their ozone and/or hydroxylslevels cannot be customized for particular wash loads.

Recirculation

Another type of ozone and/or hydroxyls system is recirculation systems.Recirculation systems continually recirculate the wash water as it iswashing laundry and adding ozone and/or hydroxyls through values atcertain points in the recirculation stream. Accordingly, recirculationsystems may continually maintain ozone and/or hydroxyls levels in thewash water through the wash cycle. Therefore, they do not have many ofthe disadvantages of the two systems above that only inject ozone and/orhydroxyls during the wash cycle. However, recirculation systems are verycomplex to implement, expensive, and requires a licensed plumber toinstall. Lint ends up clogging the pumps, which require majormaintenance. Furthermore, conventional recirculation systems add thesame amount of ozone and/or hydroxyls for each wash cycle, and onecannot customize ozone and/or hydroxyls levels for particular washloads.

Direct Injection

Finally, diffusion systems inject ozone and/or hydroxyls gas (not predissolved in water) directly into the sump of the washer continuouslythroughout each step of the wash cycle. Some diffusion systems usediffusion stones that produce micron sized gas bubbles. However, thediffusion stones often corrode over time and require maintenance.Furthermore, this system generally has lower dissolved ozone and/orhydroxyls gas levels, has high off-gassing potential (ambient ozoneand/or hydroxyls gas can reach toxic levels) and generally add the sameamount of ozone and/or hydroxyls for each wash cycle, and one cannotcustomize ozone and/or hydroxyls levels for particular wash loads.

Ozone and/or Hydroxyls Injected in Chemical Lines

Accordingly, a need exists for an ozone and/or hydroxyls injectionsystem that has low maintenance, low installation costs, may vary theamount of ozone and/or hydroxyls injected per cycle, and keeps the ozoneand/or hydroxyls levels at adequate levels through the wash cycle.Accordingly, systems and methods have been developed to allow ozoneand/or hydroxyls gas to be injected at various stages and entry pointsalong the chemical introduction systems and lines of the ozone and/orhydroxyls laundry system. The chemical lines inject the detergent andother chemicals used for laundry. The chemical lines are separate fromthe water fill lines and generally consist of several chemical drumswith pumps that are fed into a manifold to be mixed with a chemicalwater inlet that is separate from the fill water inlet (which havedifferent flow rates). The chemicals and water are then mixed to beinjected into the washer drum. These injections take place duringvarious phases of the wash cycle (e.g. during an eight minute cycle),accordingly, they serve as useful times to inject additional ozoneand/or hydroxyls through the cycle.

Accordingly, ozone and/or hydroxyls may be introduced into the chemicallines at various stages of the chemical introduction system and byvarious methods. In some embodiments, the ozone and/or hydroxyls may beintroduced into the chemical lines after the water and chemicals havemixed and exited the flush manifold. In those embodiments, the ozoneand/or hydroxyls gas may be injected with an ozone and/or hydroxylsgenerator in conjunction with a venturi by-pass manifold or otherdissolving system, or a UV ozone and/or hydroxyls generator. This ozoneand/or hydroxyls introduction may then take place further downstream inthe chemical lines to minimize off gassing through the process thatmight take place if introduced prior to mixing in the flush manifold orelsewhere in the system.

In other embodiments, the ozone and/or hydroxyls may be injected in thechemical water supply line upstream from the flush manifold that mixesthe chemicals into the water supply. This will potentially allow moreozone and/or hydroxyls to dissolve in the water prior to adding alkalineor other chemicals that make dissolving the ozone and/or hydroxyls moredifficult. In some embodiments, the UV based direct line introductionmay be more beneficial downstream from the flush manifold and theventuri introduction may be more beneficial upstream where it needs tobe dissolved.

This process may be performed at varying water and air temperatures. Insome embodiments, cooler temperatures may be implemented to slow andstabilize ozone and/or hydroxyl reaction time. By injecting ozone and/orhydroxyls into the washer with the chemical dispensing system, theamount of ozone and/or hydroxyls introduced into the system may bevaried depending on the soil levels of the laundry. The ability tocontrol the amount of ozone and/or hydroxyls will be able to minimizethe amount of off gassing while making sure an adequate amount isintroduced into the washer drum in order to clean the laundry.

Organic load has a major impact on ozone and/or hydroxyl's performance.Heavy organic load causes ozone and/or hydroxyls to oxidize rapidlywhile light organic loads cause ozone and/or hydroxyls to oxidize at aslower pace. Integrating the ozone and/or hydroxyls adding site with thechemical dispensing line (which is continually adding chemicals duringthe ozone and/or hydroxyls wash process and thus allows the ozone and/orhydroxyls to be added continually through the laundry cycle) providesthe ability to control the ozone and/or hydroxyls for different organicloads. This is important to combat heavy organic loads (add more ozoneand/or hydroxyls) and prevent ozone and/or hydroxyls from off-gases intoworking environments on light organic loads (less ozone and/or hydroxylsadded). The controller can be programmed to add ozone and/or hydroxylseither by timing a water solenoid valve to open and close, allowing morewater to be treated (e.g. diffused) with ozone and/or hydroxyls andenter into the wash machine. In some embodiments, the controller candose ozone and/or hydroxyls in ounces (similar to chemicals), andtherefore a specific ozone and/or hydroxyls dosage amount can be appliedfor the individual wash step for each wash formula.

Each system set up may be slightly different for the end user, variablesinclude: (1) linen/fabric type, (2) size of washer, (3) water quality,(4) soil contamination, and (5) washer manufacturer. This type of systemalso requires less maintenance than prior systems, will not damagemachinery, and is cost effective.

Ozone and/or hydroxyls may be injected into washer machine every timethe washer fills with water through water inlets on washer machine usingan ozone and/or hydroxyls system with a venturi manifold or waterpassing over UV light. Dissolved ozone concentrations may be usedbetween 0.1-5 PPM, or other suitable concentrations. Ozone and/orhydroxyls levels may then be controlled and maintained in the washmachine using the chemical pump controller and flush manifold. Water maybe controlled by a solenoid valve from the chemical controller and pump.Ozone and/or hydroxyls is injected into the water via venturi or waterpassing over UV light. Ozone and/or hydroxyls dosage amounts may beprogrammed based on soil and contaminant load, adding more or less ozoneand/or hydroxyls dissolved water with the programmer and controller.Ozone levels may be maintained between 0.1-5 ppm, or other suitableranges with little to no off gassing of ozone and/or hydroxyls. In someembodiments, ozone and/or hydroxyls levels may be maintained at 1 ppm.System costs are dramatically less expensive with little to nomaintenance costs.

Hydroxyl concentrations may be maintained in the drum from 0.1-5 ppm. Insome embodiments, hydroxyl concentrations may be maintained at 0.1-0.5ppm. The inventors have discovered quite optimal results for hydroxylconcentrations at this range. Typical hydroxyl generators generatehydroxyls gas having a 900 ppm hydroxyl concentration. Accordingly, oncethis is diffused into the chemical and/or water fill lines and emptiedinto the washing drum, the concentration can be maintained at 0.1-0.5ppm.

The concentration is maintained at these levels using injection cyclesof hydroxyl gas from 60 seconds-99 seconds of flow time. This is becauseduring various stages after the initial fill of the wash drum, thechemical injection,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, exemplify the embodiments of the presentinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain andillustrate principles of the invention. The drawings are intended toillustrate major features of the exemplary embodiments in a diagrammaticmanner. The drawings are not intended to depict every feature of actualembodiments nor relative dimensions of the depicted elements, and arenot drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of an ozone and/or hydroxylslaundry machine according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of another embodiment of an ozone and/or hydroxylslaundry machine according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of another embodiment of an ozone and/or hydroxylslaundry machine according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of another embodiment of an ozone and/or hydroxylslaundry machine according to the present disclosure.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers and any acronyms identifyelements or acts with the same or similar structure or functionality forease of understanding and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various examples of the invention will now be described. The followingdescription provides specific details for a thorough understanding andenabling description of these examples. One skilled in the relevant artwill understand, however, that the invention may be practiced withoutmany of these details. Likewise, one skilled in the relevant art willalso understand that the invention can include many other obviousfeatures not described in detail herein. Additionally, some well-knownstructures or functions may not be shown or described in detail below,so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description.

The terminology used below is to be interpreted in its broadestreasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with adetailed description of certain specific examples of the invention.Indeed, certain terms may even be emphasized below; however, anyterminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will beovertly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Descriptionsection.

Particular implementations of the subject matter have been described.Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. Insome cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in adifferent order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, theprocesses depicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarilyrequire the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achievedesirable results.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular implementations of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate implementations can also be implemented incombination in a single implementation. Conversely, various featuresthat are described in the context of a single implementation can also beimplemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly while operations may be depicted in the drawings in aparticular order, this should not be understood as requiring that suchoperations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequentialorder, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achievedesirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of varioussystem components in the implementations described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation in all implementations, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Overview of System

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an ozone and/or hydroxyls laundrysystem 100 that introduces ozone and/or hydroxyls in the chemical supplylines using a UV ozone and/or hydroxyls generator. Included is a washdrum 1 for depositing soiled laundry and wash liquid, a washer base andsump 11. The ozone and/or hydroxyls laundry system 100 may include atleast two supply lines: (1) a water fill lines 16 that introduces waterto fill the wash drum 1 during the initiation phase and (2) a chemicalline 22 that introduces detergent, bleach and other chemicals into thewash drum 1 during the laundry cycles.

Ozone and/or Hydroxyls Introduction into Fill Lines

When a laundry cycle is determined, a control system on the washer willbe selected for a specific cycle. The same cycle may then be input intoa control system for the chemical supply line. Then, once the soiledlaundry has been deposited in the wash drum 1, and the cycle isinitiated, the fill water inlet 15 will begin filling the wash drum 1.To do this, a valve on or connected to the fill water supply line 14 orelsewhere on the water fill lines 16 will open and allow the wash drum 1to fill with water. In some embodiments, there may be different filllevels depending on the amount of laundry. Generally, water fill lines16 only contain an on/off valve that has quite a high rate of flow thatfills the wash drum 1 quickly. This is because that is all that isrequired is an on/off valve for filling, and it is more expensive toimplement a control system to more closely regulate the fill lines—whichis not necessary. In other embodiments, there may be more specialized orclosely regulated fill lines.

Once the valve is open and fill water begins to start following throughthe fill water inlet 15, a venturi or other introducer device will beutilized to draw air over a UV lamp to generate the ozone (or otherknown devices to generate ozone) and/or hydroxyl gas in ozone and/orhydroxyls generator 3. The system may then introduce the ozone/hydroxylgas into the fill water inlet 15 using either: (1) a venturi, (2) mixingvalves, (3) diffusion, and (4) other possible methods.

In other embodiments, once the valve is open and fill water begins tostart following through the fill water inlet 15, the water will flowthrough an ozone and/or hydroxyls generator 3. In some embodiments, oncethe water begins to flow, the ozone and/or hydroxyls generator system 3may be switched on by a flow sensor, or may always be one duringoperation and will introduce ozone and/or hydroxyls gas into the filllines.

Ozone and/or Hydroxyls Generation Systems

In order to dissolve or generate dissolve ozone and/or hydroxyls intofeed water, many different systems and combinations of systems may beutilized: (1) a UV ozone and/or hydroxyls generator or (2) a dielectric(corona discharge) with a venture by-pass manifold, (3) diffusionsystems that directly inject gas into the feed lines, (4) mixing valveor pump (5) an electrolytic generator system and (6) any other suitablesystems. For example, ozone and/or hydroxyls can be generated from afeed gas of compressed ambient air, an oxygen concentrator or pureoxygen. As the feed gas is exposed to and electrical high voltage orplasma field the O₂ molecule divides into O₁ and reforms as O₃ or ozoneand/or hydroxyls. To generate hydroxyls, the feed gas may be run throughthe path of UV light. Ozone and/or hydroxyls can vary in concentrationsbased on the feed gas. For example, the higher the concentration ofoxygen the higher concentrations of ozone and/or hydroxyls are produced.

Ozone and/or hydroxyls can also be produced by applying UV light to anair supply (e.g. compressed ambient air) UV light with wave lengthsbetween 185 and 254 nanometer wave lengths can create ozone and/orhydroxyls. Oxygen and humidity in the air will convert to OH, 03 andother oxidative compounds. After generation of the ozone/hydroxyl gas, aventuri, mixing valve, diffusion system or other system may introducethe gas to dissolve it in the fill lines or chemical lines.

FIG. 1 illustrates a UV ozone and/or hydroxyls generator 3 that isdownstream of the fill water supply line 14. During the fill process,the flow in the lines will cause ozone and/or hydroxyls to be generatedbased on UV light being radiated into gas (e.g. ambient air), while aventuri or other introducer will introduce the ozone/hydroxyl gas intothe feed water that is flowing through the ozone and/or hydroxylsgeneration system 3. Accordingly, using the water fill lines 16, ozoneand/or hydroxyls may be initially introduced into wash drum water duringfilling.

Ozone and/or Hydroxyls Introduction into Chemical Lines

Ozone and/or hydroxyls may also be introduced through the chemical lines22 in the during the wash cycle. This may be in addition to or separatefrom the ozone and/or hydroxyls system that introduces ozone and/orhydroxyls into the water fill lines 16. After the fill phase is completeor during the fill phase, chemicals are deposited through the chemicalline 22 (which is separate from the fill system) into the wash drum 1 onquantities and timings based on the cycle selected and the current stageof the cycle. For example, detergent, bleach, and softener and otherchemicals may be deposited into the wash drum 1 and various stages ofthe wash cycle.

The chemical line 22 injects chemicals that are stored in variouschemical containers or drums 9 associated with the system. For example,in some embodiments, there may be a container 9 for detergent, one forbleach, one for fabric softeners and others. Once a specific chemical isneeded, the chemical injection system control may trigger the initiationof the correct chemical pump 5 to begin pumping the chemical into aflush manifold 7 where it may be mixed with water from the water inlet8. The control will send a signal to the chemical pump 5 to pump acertain amount of chemical from the chemical container 9 and also toopen a valve (e.g. solenoid) on the water inlet 8 for a certain amountof time. The control system then controls the timing of the injectionsystem, and begins to start pumping chemicals, and then after a delayopens the valve to the chemical water supply line 8. This will allowwater and chemical to enter the flush manifold 7 at the same time toensure proper mixing. In some embodiments, the chemical pump may also betold to leave the valve to the chemical water supply line 8 open forlonger to allow more water to be flushed through the manifold 7 and intothe drum 1, without adding further chemicals from the container 9. Inthis way, the control for the chemical line 22 may finely control theamount of chemical and water mixture that is pumped into the drum 1 fromthe container 9 and the chemical water supply line 8. Accordingly, withdifferent timings, various amounts of water from the inlet 8 andchemicals from the container 9 may be added, in varying flow rates,dilutions, and timings. In some embodiments, a dummy chemical pump 5 maybe included that is not connected to a chemical container 9, but isconnected to the chemical water supply line 8. Accordingly, the dummychemical pump 5 may then send a signal to a valve on the chemical watersupply line 8 that allows water to flow through the chemical watersupply line 8 and flush manifold 7 to the drum 1 without addingadditional chemicals.

After the chemicals and water have mixed in the flush manifold 7, thechemical and water mixture exits the manifold 7 and enters the flushmanifold output 4. Then, the chemicals travel through the ozone and/orhydroxyls generator 3 to the chemical water inlet 2, where they areinjected into the chemical chute or hopper 10. Once the water/chemicalmixture enters the chemical chute 10, in then enters the wash drum 1 tomix with the wash water and disinfect and clean the soiled laundry. Thechemical line may include a control that may have more precise controlover the flow rates of injection into the drum then the fill waterinjection system. This is because, the fill water inlet 15 andassociated lines are meant to quickly fill the drum 1 with water at thebeginning of the cycle. However the chemical line 22 and associatedlines are meant to more precisely enter smaller amounts of chemical andwater mixture into the drum 1 and therefore provide a more precise wayof entering chemicals. Furthermore, the flow rates on the chemicalsupply lines are generally less than the flow rates on the water filllines.

In order to inject ozone and/or hydroxyls into the chemical lines 22 anozone and/or hydroxyls generator 3 may be placed at various points alongthe chemical fill lines 22. In some embodiments, the ozone and/orhydroxyls generator 3 may be downstream from the flush manifold 7 inorder to introduce ozone and/or hydroxyls into the chemical line 22 atthe last time possible prior to entering the chemical chute 10 and washdrum 1, to minimize off gassing and ozone and/or hydroxyls reactivityprior to entering the drum 1. In other embodiments, the ozone and/orhydroxyls generator 3 may be upstream from the flush manifold 7 butdownstream from the chemical water supply line 8. In still otherembodiments, the ozone and/or hydroxyls generator may be upstream from achemical pump 5 that is linked to an ozone and/or hydroxyls generator 3rather than a chemical container 9.

In some embodiments, various types of ozone and/or hydroxyls generatorsmay be utilized for certain configurations for injecting ozone and/orhydroxyls into the chemical lines 22. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates aUV based ozone and/or hydroxyls generator downstream of the flushmanifold. In this embodiment, the UV generator may be switched onwhenever there is flow through the ozone and/or hydroxyls generator 3,for instance, by using a flow switch upstream or downstream from theozone and/or hydroxyls generator 3. In some embodiments, such a UV ozoneand/or hydroxyls generator 3 may remain in operation, and when the flowlines in the chemical injection system were turned on, the system wouldinject ozone and/or hydroxyls into the water stream as water passedthrough and the venturi or other gas introduction system dissolved theozone/hydroxyl gas into the water stream.

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the system that includes ozoneand/or hydroxyls generators 25 that are ozone and/or hydroxyls gasgenerators 25 (e.g., dielectric corona discharge). In this embodiment,ozone and/or hydroxyls gas is generated and must be mixed in thewater/chemical lines' liquid in order to dissolve the ozone and/orhydroxyls gas and be useful once injected into the wash drum 1. Inembodiments where ozone and/or hydroxyls gas generators 25 are used,various methods may be utilized to mix the ozone and/or hydroxyls gasinto the water or water chemical mixture so that the ozone and/orhydroxyls gas dissolves into the liquid.

For example, in some embodiments, a venturi system may be utilized. Inthose embodiments, the ozone and/or hydroxyls generators 25 may beoperational during a wash cycle, creating ozone and/or hydroxyls gasthat remains contained in an ozone and/or hydroxyl gas supply line 29until utilized. In those embodiments, the gas be back stopped at theventuri until water or water/chemical mixture begins to flow through theflush manifold output and chemical supply line through the venturi 23.Accordingly, the ozone and/or hydroxyl gas will not be dissolved ormixed unless water is flowing through the lines of the chemicalinjection system into a wash drum 1. This system has a distinctadvantage in that the ozone and/or hydroxyls generator itself is notrequired to be turned on and off. Rather, the flow through theintroducer (e.g. venturi) 23 will cause gas to be automatically drawnout of the ozone and/or hydroxyls gas supply line 29 and dissolve intothe liquid/chemical mixture in the chemical supply line 2. As mentionedpreviously, the introducer 23 may also be situated upstream of the flushmanifold 4 and along the chemical water supply line 8. However, in thisembodiment, there may be greater off gassing as the water would have totravel further prior to entering the wash drum 1 with ozone and/orhydroxyl dissolved.

Other introducers 23 for introducing the ozone and/or hydroxyl gas intothe liquid of the water fill lines 16 and/or the chemical line 22 may beutilized. For example, mixing pumps may be utilized that are switched onand off as the chemical supply line is turned on for each stage of thewash cycle. However, these embodiments may require extra valves andequipment in comparison to the venturi embodiment. In some embodiments,a venturi system may be utilized with a gas valve that opens and closesthe ozone and/or hydroxyls gas supply line 29. In other embodiments,direct diffusion of ozone and/or hydroxyls into the various portions ofthe fill lines and chemical supply lines may be utilized. This methodmay also require a valve to close and open the gas supply lines 29, andmay have less of ozone and/or hydroxyls dissolved into the liquid andaccordingly more off gassing once the liquid enters the washer drum 1.

Ozone/Hydroxyl Injection Systems that Utilize Gas Introduction

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate example systems that generate gaseous ozoneand/or hydroxyl charged gas that may be diffused into the water lines 16and/or the chemical line 22. The gas is generated by an ozone orhydroxyl generator(s) 3 that emit the gas into gas supply lines 18 thatconnect to the water line 14 and/or chemical lines 22. The gas may beintroduced into the supply lines through an number of introducers 23including: a venturi, mixing process, diffusion process, or otherprocess as disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, a venturi valve introduces the ozone in the waterfill supply line 14 upstream of the fill water inlet 15 into the washdrum 1. In some embodiments, a second venturi may introduce the gasupstream of the manifold 7 and prior to the chemical pumps addingchemicals into the chemical water supply line 8 as illustrated in FIG.3. In this embodiment, the gas generator 3 may be able to generate gasto two different gas supply lines 18, so that the single generate (orcombination of multiple generators) can feed the fill water supply line14 and the chemical water supply line 8. This is in contrast to thesystems in FIGS. 1 and 2 that require separate ozone and/or hydroxylgenerators 3 for each supply line. Accordingly, the arrangementillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 minimizes the equipment utilized, andsimplifies the construction. This makes the unit more efficient and costeffective than prior units.

Also in this embodiment, a valve 19 is positioned upstream of themanifold 7 and downstream of the introducer 23. Valve 19 may be asolenoid valve or other suitable valve 19. In some examples, valve 19may be controlled by control system 20, and allow solenoid valve to openso that the valve 19 allows water from the chemical water supply line 8to pass over the introducer 23. If the gas generator 3 is activelyproducing ozone or hydroxyls through gas supply lines 18 while thesolenoid valve 19 is open, then introducer 23 will draw in and dissolvesome of the gas into the chemical supply line 8.

After the water is charged with ozone or hydroxyl gas from the chemicalwater supply line 8, the charged water flows through the flush manifold7, and chemicals may be pumped into the flush manifold 7 (or otherchemical integration system) from the chemical drums 9, that flowthrough the chemical supply lines 6, to the chemical pumps 5. Then thecharged water will be mixed with chemicals and expelled to the flushmanifold output 4. Accordingly, from there, the flush manifold output 4will dispense the mixture into the chemical water inlet 2 on the drum 1.

Accordingly, through use of the control system 20, the valve 19 can beopened for varying amounts of time, and the gas generator 3 can beturned out for the entire portions of the time when the valve 19 isopen. Also, the chemical pumps 5 may pump various chemicals into theflush manifold (e.g. detergent, bleach, etc.), at various times whilevalve 19 is open and the water from the chemical supply line 8 isflowing. Accordingly, varying amounts of chemicals and ozone or hydroxylcharged water may be added to the drum 1 through the chemical supplyinlet 2.

In some examples, the solenoid valve will remain open for 99 seconds(the maximum for some manufacturers for each portion of the cycle) andthe gas generator 3 may be generating hydroxyl gas (or ozone) at 900 ppmfor the 99 seconds. This will be repeated for each stage where chemicalsor water is added to the drum 1 through the chemical water supply line8. For instance, many cycles may include a (1) detergent adding/washphase, (2) bleach, (3) rinse, (4) spin, etc. For each of these phases,the chemical fill line 8 may remain open using the valve 19 for 99seconds during each phase of the cycle, regardless of whether chemicalsare being added by the chemical pumps 5 to the flush manifold 7.Accordingly, this may be one way to maximize the amount of hydroxylcharged water added. In other examples, (e.g. for less heavily soiledloads), the gas generator 3 may be turned on for less than the 99seconds (e.g. 60 seconds, 70 seconds, 80 seconds, 90 seconds, etc.) foreach portion of the cycle.

Additionally, the inventors have discovered one particular arrangementthat is quite effective utilizes hydroxyl generators 3 (true hydroxylgenerators that generate gas charged with 900-1000 ppm of hydroxyl gasor similar concentrations) in the arrangement of FIG. 3. Accordingly,the inventors have discovered that utilizing this, they can dramaticallylower the rewash rate.

The laundry industry measures its cleaning results based on a rewashpercentage. Most traditional wash processes using hot water have arewash rate of 3-5%. Our system has consistently cleaned the same typeof linen with a rewash rate of 1-2%. This success is with little to nohot water and a slight reduction in traditional wash chemistry. It goeswithout saying that the reduction in rewash saves a lot of time andmoney for the customer.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment using gaseous introduction of asingle (or combination) generator 3 that includes two gas supply lines18 to supply both (1) the fill water supply line 14, and (2) thechemical water supply line 8. In this embodiment, illustrated is asimilar system to FIG. 3, however, the chemical supply line is no longeris connected to the flush manifold 7, chemical drums 9, and chemicalpumps 5. Rather, the gaseous feed line for the chemical water supplyline 8 is utilized only for injecting hydroxyl radical charged waterinto the wash drum 1.

Additionally, the control system 20 is instead included in the washsystem controls that come available with commercial units, or anaddition a control system 20 may be attached to the wash drum 1 toregulate the valve 19 (e.g. solenoid valve) that controls how muchchemical supply water 8 enters the wash drum after passing over theintroducer 23 to add the hydroxyl gas or ozone gas. This may bebeneficial, if a system is developed that only requires hydroxyl chargedwater, rather than chemicals as well.

Control Systems for Ozone and/or Hydroxyl Gas Introduction

Adding ozone and/or hydroxyls to the washer drum 1 through the chemicalline 22 has many advantages over systems that only either: add the ozoneto the fill lines, recirculate ozone using pumps, or directly injectingit into the drum 1. First, with respect to systems that only injectingozone into the water fill lines 16, as described above, those systemsgreatly limit the amount and concentration of the ozone for the majorityof the wash cycle as the ozone is generally only added in the beginningof the wash cycle. Furthermore, with the recirculation systems, theozone may be maintained at higher levels, however, the system is quiteexpensive, and is prone to high maintenance requirements. Particularly,as additional plumbing is required, the pumps and recirculation systemmay clog with lint, and require additional electricity to run whichultimately may eliminate the efficiency gains of using an ozone laundrysystem.

Accordingly, the ozone and/or hydroxyls system presently disclosed hasthe advantage of adding dissolved ozone and/or hydroxyls to the chemicallines 22 that already add liquid and chemicals into the wash drum 1, andtherefore, the addition of ozone and/or hydroxyls generally does not addadditional liquid. This is advantageous, as additional liquid wouldgenerally dilute the concentration of the cleaning chemicals in theozone and/or hydroxyls drum. Furthermore, the control and pump systemfor the chemical lines 22 already exists and would be installed with alaundry unit, and therefore adding an ozone and/or hydroxyls injectionpoint along the chemical lines 22 would be not add considerably to thecost or labor of installation, except for the addition of the ozoneand/or hydroxyls units. Therefore, this will allow ozone and/orhydroxyls to be injected in the laundry system through the ozone and/orhydroxyls cycle.

For example, varying amounts and concentrations of ozone and/orhydroxyls may be added to the washer drum 1 by way of the control systemmanipulating the timing and control of the chemical lines 22. Asdiscussed above, the chemical pumps may be controlled by the chemicalcontrol system to dilute the chemicals with more or less water from thechemical water supply line 8. Generally, the control system sends asignal to the chemical pump 5 which controls the amount of chemicalspumped from the containers 9. In turn, the chemical pump 5 then controlsor relays the control signal to the chemical water supply line 8 todetermine the amount of water also mixed with the chemicals in themanifold 7. In other embodiments, the control system may be configuredto directly control the chemical water supply line 8.

For many embodiments discussed herein, ozone and/or hydroxyls may beeffectively added at any time the ozone and/or hydroxyls generator isoperating and water is flowing through the chemical lines of thechemical injection system. Accordingly, if the control system sends asignal to turn on a chemical pump 5, but also instructions to add morewater from the chemical water supply line 8 than usual, more ozoneand/or hydroxyls will be introduced into the wash drum 1 than for atypical chemical injection. As another example, the dummy chemical pump5 may also be switched on to initiate water flowing from the water inlet8 in order to add additional ozone and/or hydroxyls into the wash drum 1without adding more chemicals. Therefore, because the chemical line 22is utilized, the precise amounts of ozone and/or hydroxyls enrichedwater that is added to the wash drum 1 may be more finely regulated. Forexample, it may be desired to keep the ozone and/or hydroxyls levels at0.5 ppm, 1 ppm, 2 ppm, or other concentrations. It has been discoveredthat using the systems disclosed herein, for example, the ozone and/orhydroxyls concentration in the wash drum may be maintained at 1 ppm forvarious types of wash cycles throughout the cycle.

For instance, if the flow rate through chemical injection system isknown along with the amount of ozone and/or hydroxyls injected by theozone and/or hydroxyls introduction system into the chemical lines perounce of water that flows through, the amount of ozone and/or hydroxylsin ounces or other units being deposited into the wash drum 1 may becalculated. Accordingly, the amount of ozone and/or hydroxyls needed tobe added to appropriately raise the ozone and/or hydroxyls levels in thewash system to a desired ozone and/or hydroxyls level may be calculated.In some embodiments, a feedback system may be implemented with an ozoneand/or hydroxyls sensor (or several sensors) in the wash drum 1 thatsend an indication of the ozone and/or hydroxyls levels in the wash drum1 to the controller to allow the controller to determine the amount ofozone and/or hydroxyls needed to be added to the wash drum 1 to bringthe ozone and/or hydroxyls levels up to the appropriate concentration.Then, the controller may then determine the precise control logicrequired to command the chemical/dummy pumps 5 and/or water inlet 8 todeliver the needed amount of ozone and/or hydroxyls to the wash drum 1.This disclosed system provides a thorough cleaning of wash loads bymaintaining ozone and/or hydroxyls levels through the wash cycle.

Although the ozone and/or hydroxyls system has been described withrespect to these two embodiments, various other embodiments may beimplemented that inject ozone and/or hydroxyls into various points alongthe chemical line and take advantage of the already sophisticatedwater/chemical injection system in place.

Computer & Hardware Implementation of Disclosure

It should initially be understood that the disclosed control systems 20herein may be implemented with any type of hardware and/or software, andmay be a pre-programmed general purpose computing device. For example,the system may be implemented using a server, a personal computer, aportable computer, a thin client, or any suitable device or devices. Thedisclosure and/or components thereof may be a single device at a singlelocation, or multiple devices at a single, or multiple, locations thatare connected together using any appropriate communication protocolsover any communication medium such as electric cable, fiber optic cable,or in a wireless manner.

It should also be noted that the disclosure is illustrated and discussedherein as having a plurality of modules which perform particularfunctions. It should be understood that these modules are merelyschematically illustrated based on their function for clarity purposesonly, and do not necessary represent specific hardware or software. Inthis regard, these modules may be hardware and/or software implementedto substantially perform the particular functions discussed. Moreover,the modules may be combined together within the disclosure, or dividedinto additional modules based on the particular function desired. Thus,the disclosure should not be construed to limit the present invention,but merely be understood to illustrate one example implementationthereof.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someimplementations, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to aclient device (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receivinguser input from a user interacting with the client device). Datagenerated at the client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction)can be received from the client device at the server.

Implementations of the subject matter described in this specificationcan be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-endcomponent, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front-endcomponent, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface ora Web browser through which a user can interact with an implementationof the subject matter described in this specification, or anycombination of one or more such back-end, middleware, or front-endcomponents. The components of the system can be interconnected by anyform or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communicationnetwork. Examples of communication networks include a local area network(“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., theInternet), and peer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peernetworks).

Implementations of the subject matter and the operations described inthis specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry,or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Implementations of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or inaddition, the program instructions can be encoded on anartificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generatedelectrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal that is generated toencode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium canbe, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, orother storage devices).

The operations described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a “data processing apparatus” on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources.

The term “control system” encompasses all kinds of apparatus, devices,and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks.However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer canbe embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console,a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device(e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

1-8. (canceled)
 9. A hydroxyl laundry chemical injection systemcomprising: a chemical line in fluid communication with a wash drum fora washing machine, the chemical line comprising a chemical water supplyline and a valve, wherein the valve is configured to control the flow ofwater from the chemical water supply line to the wash drum; a water fillline in fluid communication with the wash drum comprising a fill watersupply line; a hydroxyl gas generator; and a hydroxyl gas introducer influid communication with the hydroxyl gas generated and placed upstreamfrom the valve and configured to introduce hydroxyl gas into thechemical line.
 10. The hydroxyl laundry chemical injection system ofclaim 9, wherein the chemical container contains detergent.
 11. Ahydroxyl laundry system comprising: a wash drum; a water fill line influid communication with the wash drum; a chemical line in fluidcommunication with the wash drum; and a hydroxyl gas generatorconfigured to introduce hydroxyl gas into the fluid within the chemicalline prior to dispensing in the wash drum.
 12. The hydroxyl laundrysystem of claim 11, wherein the hydroxyl gas generator generates gaswith a concentration of hydroxyl radicals of at least 800 ppm.
 13. Thehydroxyl laundry system of claim 11, wherein the hydroxyl gas generatorgenerates gas with a concentration of hydroxyl radicals of at least 900ppm
 14. The hydroxyl laundry system of claim 11, wherein the hydroxylgas generator generates gas with a concentration of hydroxyl radicals ofat least 1000 ppm.
 15. The hydroxyl laundry system of claim 13, whereinthe hydroxyl gas generator is in fluid communication with a venturisystem used to introduce hydroxyl gas into the chemical line.
 16. Thehydroxyl laundry system of claim 15, wherein the venturi systemintroduces hydroxyl gas downstream of a flush manifold into the chemicalline.
 17. The hydroxyl laundry system of claim 15, wherein the venturisystem introduces hydroxyl gas upstream of a flush manifold into thechemical line.
 18. The hydroxyl laundry system of claim 11, wherein thesystem is configured to maintain hydroxyl concentrations inside the drumat 0.1-0.5 ppm throughout the wash cycle.
 19. The hydroxyl laundrysystem of claim 11, wherein the system is configured to maintainhydroxyl concentrations in the wash drum at 0.5 ppm throughout the washcycle.